WATERBURY, Conn., Nov. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Webster Financial
Corporation (NYSE: WBS) announced on November 7, 2006 that its Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer, James C. Smith, and its Chief Financial Officer,
Jerry Plush, will make a presentation at the Merrill Lynch 2006 Banking &
Financial Services Conference on Tuesday, November 14, 2006 from 12:55 pm to
1:40 pm. At today's conference, Webster intends to give details on the
following actions that it will implement as part of its balance sheet
transformation process in the fourth quarter of 2006:
-- The sale of $250 million of residential mortgage loans. The sale
proceeds will be utilized to pay down $250 million in short-term
borrowings.
-- Webster will pay down an additional $650 million in short-term
borrowings from the proceeds of agency securities that mature through
December 2006 instead of re-investing those cash flows.
-- The securitization of $1 billion of residential mortgage loans into the
held-to-maturity securities portfolio, primarily for collateral
purposes.
At current market levels, the sale of the $250 million of residential
mortgage loans is estimated to result in an aggregate pretax loss of
approximately $7.0 million ($4.6 million after tax), which will be recognized
in fourth quarter results. This is in addition to the loss on the sale of
mortgage-backed securities previously announced on October 17, 2006. The sale
of those securities has now been completed. Webster's actual pre-tax loss
recorded in the fourth quarter on the sale of those securities was $2.4
million ($1.6 million after tax) compared to the $6.0 million ($3.9 million
after tax) estimated in mid-October based on then current market values.
A link to the live webcast of Webster's presentation at the Merrill Lynch
2006 Banking & Financial Services Conference and corresponding presentation
slides will be available at Webster's Investor Relations website,
http://www.wbst.com.
Webster Financial Corporation is the holding company for Webster Bank,
National Association and Webster Insurance. With $18.1 billion in assets,
Webster provides business and consumer banking, mortgage, insurance, financial
planning, trust and investment services through 176 banking offices, 330 ATMs,
telephone banking and the Internet. Webster Bank owns the asset-based lending
firm Webster Business Credit Corporation, the insurance premium finance
company Budget Installment Corp., Center Capital Corporation, an equipment
finance company headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut and provides health
savings account custodian and administrative services through HSA Bank, a
division of Webster Bank, Member FDIC and equal housing lender.
Forward-looking Statements
Statements in this press release regarding Webster Financial Corporation's
business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that
involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those contained
in the forward-looking statement, see "Forward Looking Statements" in
Webster's Annual Report for 2005.
Except as required by law, Webster does not undertake to update any such
forward-looking information.
Media Contact
Clark Finley 203-578-2287
cfinley@websterbank.com
Investor Contact
Terry Mangan 203-578-2318
tmangan@websterbank.com
SOURCE Webster Financial Corporation